


little archie & friends

by Tuesdayschildd



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Four Musketeers, Little Archie, Treehouses, Valentines, Varchie!Centric, diaries, grade school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:09:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24312541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuesdayschildd/pseuds/Tuesdayschildd
Summary: A collection of sweet drabbles of the core four through grade school, from various perspectives.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 46
Kudos: 33





	1. third grade

_. . . . ._

By the time Archie gets back from the restroom, Jughead has eaten exactly _eight_ fries off his friend’s plate. Pretending to be extremely interested in his latest comic book, he hides his face as he chews the last one and wipes the grease on his jeans, missing the knowing look his father gives him from behind the counter. 

It's F.P.’s night to watch them - the motherless boys - while Mr. Andrews does whatever it is he does on Friday nights. And on those nights they sit at Pop’s until F.P. locks the door around 2 a.m., hustling the last of the drunk teenagers outside and shaking his head as they immediately light up smokes. 

Usually, the boys are already asleep, lying across the seats in the back booth with their heads on their folded up coats until his dad shakes them awake and shuffles them groggily into the truck.

Or until someone else takes pity on the poor kids and brings them home to wait.

Sometimes that person is Mrs. Cooper.

Jughead likes when Mrs. Cooper rescues them - she piles pillows and blankets on the living room couch and brings them snickerdoodle cookies and hot chocolate with those little marshmallows. He likes that she falls asleep in the recliner waiting with them and pretends she hasn’t when F.P. arrives.

And sometimes Betty sneaks downstairs to show Jughead her new books when Mrs. Cooper starts snoring. Last week it was Hardy Boys #46: the Secret Agent in Flight 101. Jughead hadn’t read it yet. They had stayed awake reading with a flashlight while Archie drooled in his sleep next to them until the truck’s headlights shone through the windows around 2:30 am, and Betty quickly, but silently, ran back up the steps.

Archie says he loves these nights at Pop’s. 

Jughead thinks he’s delusional. He’d rather be at home.

“I just don’t get it, Jug,” Archie whines.

“Get what?” He knows _what_ , because Archie’s been talking about it nonstop since they left the school yard that afternoon. 

In a tragic turn of misfortune, Jughead has left his journal in his desk at school and is now stuck reading an old Superman comic he found stashed in Pop’s office, trying to avoid having to be more engaging in Archie’s _girl_ nonsense.

“Ronnie wouldn’t hold my hand at recess, today,” Archie sighs dramatically, _again_. “And I saw her talking with Reggie during Gym class.”

 _Girl_ _problems_.

They’re too young to be having _girl_ _problems_. 

Archie’s been in love ever since Mrs. Glatis introduced the _princess_ to the Kindergarten class in the middle of February. She was all dressed up like it was Christmas mass with a giant stupid bow on her head, and Jughead has been listening to the lover’s lament now for three long years.

 _Ronnie_ this and _Ronnie_ that. And _Ronnie_ smells so nice. And _Ronnie’s_ hair is so pretty. And _Ronnie_ , _Ronnie_ , _Ronnie_.

Jughead knows girls are stupid. They whine too much, giggle too much, and cry too much. Or in Veronica’s case, just _everything._ _too._ _much_. 

All of them except Betty. 

But she’s not a girl. Not really.

“What did I _do_ _wrong_?”

Jughead rolls his eyes, laying the comic down carefully on the table open to page 12, Superman is about to save a woman on the top of a burning building. He opens his mouth to tell Archie again that _girls_ _are_ _stupid_. But he doesn’t get there, saved by the door chime. 

An annoying flash of raven curls bounds over to their table in a hurry. “Archiekins!” 

_Barf_.

Veronica jumps up into the booth next to the idiot in question, whose staring at her with those stupid gooey eyes that have taken over his best friend’s face like a body snatcher whenever she’s around. “I _thought_ that was your dapper head in the window.” 

Jughead spies Mrs. Lodge entering Pop’s much less obnoxiously than her daughter, walking over to the counter where his dad is serving coffee. When she settles onto a stool, Jughead realizes they’re not immediately leaving and holds back a grunt of displeasure.

Veronica leans over to kiss Archie’s cheek, watching as it reddens when she pulls away. So much so that the color rivals his hair, and Jughead holds his tongue in teasing him for fear of prolonging this interaction more than necessary.

She giggles, and the noise makes Jughead want to throw the rest of the food at them.

Grumbling, he picks up the comic as Veronica takes one of Archie’s fries, mumbling off a meaningless hello to him.

 _Girls_.

He’d like to go _now_ , please. Where was Mrs. Cooper when you needed her?

As Archie squeaks on about how nice it is to see her, Jughead spies his dad smiling at Mrs. Lodge and nodding his head, both of them turning to look over at the kids in a manner Jughead doesn’t quite like.

 _No_...

“ _You’re gunna come to my house, Archiekins!_ ”

_Oh please, no._

“You too, Jughead! It’s going to be _so_ fun!”

What did he do to deserve this torture?

_. . . . ._


	2. kindergarten

_. . . . ._

His dad said the teacher would be very nice, but Archie eyes her wearily every morning with the kind of heavy fear in his eyes only a six year old could manage - as if she could possibly combust at any moment if he did something wrong, spewing horns and talons like out of a nightmare. 

Betty says Mrs. Glatis is the best. Jughead says Archie needs to grow up.

Betty remembers to hold Archie’s hand every morning when they walk into class, as this seems to placate him for a few minutes until he forgets to be afraid, distracted with the Legos. 

Jughead gets into arguments with Mrs Glatis daily, as he doesn’t understand why everyone has to practice writing the same letters at the same time, or draw the same picture, or make the same clay monster, or sleep at nap time, when he just wants to do his own thing.

Betty helps to hand out the snacks, more often provided by her mother than any other class parent, makes sure everyone remembers their hats at recess, and reprimands anyone from making fun of Jughead for never taking his off. 

At lunch, Archie shares his pb&j with Betty and his Oreos with both of them, because Mrs. Cooper only packs cucumber sandwiches, and his dad is a much better lunch-packer. Jughead eats Betty’s gross sandwiches, because he says he doesn’t mind. 

They’re quite the little threesome, so says Mrs. Glatis to Mrs. Cooper when she picks them up everyday.

“The three-musketeers!” Archie shouts, something his dad says. Betty always corrects him. There were _four_.

And so _she_ appears, standing at the front of the classroom on a snowy February afternoon when they come in from the playground with their red noses and cold fingers, wet boots leaving puddles on the floor.

“Are you okay?” Jughead nudges Archie in the ribs over everyone’s loud voices, and he’s caught enough off guard that he stumbles while unzipping his coat. “You look sick.”

Archie can’t stop staring. _She’s_ wearing a pretty purple dress - _he suddenly loves purple_ \- with a silver bow on her headband that matches her shoes. Her dark hair is so shiny - the shiniest hair _ever_.

“Class, this is Veronica Lodge,” Mrs. Glatis announces as the children shove their coats into their cubicles, looking over curiously. “She’ll be joining us for the rest of the year. Everyone say ‘ _Hi, Veronica_!’”

“Hi, Veronica,” they repeat obediently, half interested. Betty frowns at the classes half-hearted response to their new student.

It’s Betty’s turn to nudge Archie, who’s frozen with his coat half unzipped and his gloves on the floor still staring while everyone else is already rushing to the reading carpet for circle time.

“Archie, what’s wrong?” Betty follows his gaze to the new girl, and frowning, bends down to gather his fallen gloves. Handing them out to him, she asks, “Do you _know_ Veronica?”

It seems to snap him out of his daze, and he rushes to shove his coat in his cubby quickly, whispering a _No_! as he snatches his gloves out of Betty’s waiting hand, suddenly very eager to get to the reading circle. The new girl has sat herself right next to Mrs. Glatis’s chair.

Betty beats him to it when Archie trips on his shoelaces, and she plops down next to Veronica while everyone else seems to keep a distance away. 

“Hi! I’m Betty,” she’s introducing herself when Archie finally gets to the circle, sitting down on the other side of Betty dejectedly.

Jughead sighs, scooting over from his usual spot just outside the circle to sit closer to them. 

“And this is Archie and Jughead,” Betty adds with a welcoming smile. “They’re my best friends.”

“Hi, I’m Archie!” Archie says too loudly at the same time Veronica questions Betty. 

“ _Jug_ - _Head_?”

“Forsythe Pendleton Jones,” Jughead clarifies, pulling the band of his beanie over his ears, already annoyed with the changes. “ _The Third_.”

This seems to be explanation enough for the nickname, and Veronica nods, turning to complement Betty’s ponytail scrunchie before eyeing Archie curiously.

“Hello, Archie,” she smiles at him, right before Mrs. Glatis asks them all to quiet down. 

And she _keeps_ smiling at him through the whole reading of The Cat in the Hat. 

Archie notices Veronica’s teeth are very straight and that she has a freckle on her left cheek. And that an old man in a uniform picks her up after school while Betty and Jughead carry on about which Dr. Seuss book they think is best. 

He mentions the freckle to his father at dinner, in between eager bites of chicken wings and explanations of story time and arts and crafts. 

Archie doesn’t understand why his dad finds this so funny, staring puzzled while his dad coughs on his glass of water while laughing so hard and muttering something about _Like Father, Like Son_.

“Her name is Veronica Log, Dad!”

Fred shakes his head, clearing his throat and quieting his snickers. “It’s Veronica _Lodge_ , son.”

Archie doesn’t question why his dad knows this. 

“Would you like to invite your new friend over for dinner some time?”

_. . . . ._


	3. seventh grade

_. . . . ._

Her outfit has been picked out for days - a tasteful scarlet Ted Baker dress, altered of course as the line doesn’t make junior sizes yet - paired with black kitten buckled heels, the highest her mother allows. Her classic strings of pearls hang at her neck and wrist. Betty helps Veronica adjust the finishing touch, a red satin ribbon banding around her head holding her sleek raven hair back, with a perfectly tied bow at the side of her part.

“Picture perfect,” Betty says, smiling and snapping a quickie photo of them posing in the mirror in the bathroom with kissy faces before giggling. Betty is also dressed up for the occasion, sweater adorned with hearts and Cupid’s arrows. She too has a pretty ribbon, a pink one tying up her usual ponytail. Their looks are complete with little gold chain friendship bracelets that Veronica had picked up on her last trip to NYC, with dangling crystal B & V charms. 

“Our Valentines won’t know what hit ‘em,” Veronica agrees, adding a finish touch of gloss to her lips. 

Betty shakes her head. “You know I don’t have a Valentine, V.” 

“Nonsense,” Veronica corrects, pouting her lips in the mirror. “Jughead is a perfectly acceptable Valentine, even if he doesn’t know it yet.” 

The blonde rolls her eyes, sick of hearing about how Veronica thinks Jughead _likes_ Betty. 

Jughead doesn’t like _anyone_ , _ever_.

Archie makes Veronica the largest Valentine that anyone receives, poster-board size, proclaiming _Will You Be Mine?_ covered in glitter and rouge glue and a couple of Vegas’s hairs he couldn’t get out. It’s so big that she carries it around all day as she can’t fit it in her locker, or so she says.

Much to her surprise after handing a friendly Valentine to Jughead - _There’s Nothing Better Than a Friend, Unless it’s a Friend With Chocolate! -_ Betty receives one in return, a few lines from an Edgar Allan Poe verse about spring that she doesn’t quite understand, bringing a pink tinge to her cheeks that Veronica teases her about later. 

Veronica hands out custom lollipops she had designed in Manhattan for the occasion, colorful chocolate ones complete with ornate _V’s_. Jughead scowls, but quickly takes off the wrapper and sticks his in his mouth.

At lunch, Reggie hands out red roses to any girl wearing a skirt or dress, and Veronica scolds him for being such a pig - to which he just oinks in her direction before carrying on.

The day goes quickly, class otherwise exactly the same if not for lots of chocolates hidden inside desks and construction paper hearts falling out of lockers. The teachers haven’t lightened the workload just because it’s Cupid’s day to shine. There are still papers to hand in, notes to be taken, and math problems to solve.

Archie takes Veronica’s hand tightly when the final bell rings, waving goodbye to Jughead and Betty before slipping into the back of the Lodge’s private car. 

He stares down at their entwined hands on the seat between them, getting nervous while on their way to Pop’s for their date.

The handholding isn’t new, _per say -_ they’ve been doing that since the second day they met in Kindergarten when she grabbed his on the way out to the playground as if it was always supposed to be that way, _Archie and Veronica_. 

No, what _is_ new is the way Veronica’s thumb caresses his now, sending butterflies fluttering in his stomach every time she squeezes his fingers. She’s been officially his girlfriend since the fifth grade when she demanded that he make _an honest woman out of her._ He’d had to ask her what that meant. 

Reggie and the rest of the pee-wee football team think the duo has gotten to second base. But as it is, they haven't even _properly_ kissed - just pecks on the cheek at school or when they're hanging around with Betty and Jughead. Archie once worked up the courage to ask Veronica if he could kiss her on the mouth after Moose announced to the team that Midge and him had _touched tongues_ , Archie realizing that maybe they too should be moving on to the next level - after all they’ve been together _forever_.

But Veronica just giggled and said she had _it all planned out_ , that it _wasn’t the right time yet_ , leaving him with just another lip gloss imprint on his cheek instead, very close - but not close enough - to his lips. He had a frown all lunch period that day, and Jughead told him he looked like someone had pissed in his cereal. 

That had been a _year_ ago.

Since then, Veronica seems to do something new every few weeks - tuck her head under his chin, run her nails up his sleeve, brush her thumb over his - like she is now. Just not yet properly _kiss_ him. 

And that's all he wants as he stares at her in her pretty dress with her shiny lips sitting across from him, drinking her double chocolate milkshake in their booth at Pop’s.

“Did you like your Valentine?” She asks before brushing a bit of whipped cream off his lip with her thumb, referring to the box of truffles she had given him first thing this morning.

“Of course, Ronnie. They were great.” 

He had eaten all the truffles before the start of third period, but he wouldn’t tell her that part. 

He’s a little _more_ nervous as Smithers drives to his house after their meal, and Veronica squeezes his hand in the back seat a couple more times. 

“Come on in for a minute, Ronnie,” he says after a deep breath. “I have to show you something.” He tugs her hand when the car slows to a stop. 

“I’ll just circle the block a few times, Miss Lodge,” Smithers adds winking at her in the rearview mirror as if he knows something she doesn’t.

Veronica fiddles with the bow in her hair as Archie leads her to the garage of all places, steering her to sit on the thread-bare couch before he grabs his guitar leaning against the wall.

He places the strap around his shoulders, fiddling with it anxiously before sitting next to her.

“I uh…wrote you something.”

She beams with her hands folded in her lap, watching silently as his fingers start to nervously pluck away an enchanting melody. It’s soft and flowing, and she feels her heartbeat pick up the tempo when he opens his mouth to sing. 

_Be mine, it’s you_

_It’s always been you_

_Your eyes, they shine_

_I see the past to_

_Show me how we’ve grown_

_And I wouldn’t change a thing_

_I’m exactly where I want to be_

_Here with you_

_It’s you_

_It’s always been you_

When his fingers strum out the last chord, he feels time stop as she reaches for the strap of the guitar on his shoulder. She gently pulls him towards her as his eyes widen, closing the distance between them while his brain starts silent shouting _It’s finally happening!_

Her lips taste like raspberries pressing firmly to his, and he wonders how he’s spent so much time _not_ doing this with her. 

It’s like fireworks on the Fourth of July, like the first snowfall of winter, like riding the tilt-a-whirl when the carnival comes to town and he and Jughead line up for it over and over again.

Her lips feel like two soft marshmallows, her delicate nose tucked neatly next to his.

He brings his shaking hand to her waist as she slides her lips up a bit. She opens them, taking a little of his upper one further into her mouth. His heart pounds so hard she must surely hear it when he swears he feels the tiny wetness of her tongue. 

Before he can tell for sure, she’s pulling away slowly, and he’s happy to find she looks as frazzled as he feels, her eyes as wide as his surely must be as all the circuits short in their brains and his heart sighs.

Stupidly, he almost says _Thank you_ but then she’s crashing her sweet lips against his again so quickly that he luckily doesn’t have the opportunity to sound like an idiot.

It’s _the_ _best_ Valentine’s Day _ever_. 

_. . . . ._


	4. fourth grade

_. . . . ._

Jughead pulls his hat down over his ears, huffing as he pushes past the other boys goofing off in the locker room. 

Archie spies him immediately, a shadow amongst the vibrant blue and gold jerseys of the Riverdale pee-wee football team. He finishes tying his shoelaces by the time Jug navigates through the boys, narrowly edging around Reggie and Moose, the former with the latter in a headlock. 

“What are you doing here?” Archie asks. Seeing Jughead in the locker room is as weird as seeing Veronica wearing jeans - it has only happened _once_ when they had sprayed the girls with the garden hose last summer and Betty lent her a pair while her dress dried. It had been _very_ weird.

“You...uh...need to get to the treehouse.” There’s urgency in Jughead’s lowered voice, and Archie realizes that whatever it is that’s made him brave the bravado of a post-win locker room must be important. 

Although with Jughead, his level of importance is not usually aligned with Archie’s. Jughead had once shown up at the Andrews’ door fuming when Pop ran out of ice cream. He had been nearly inconsolable for the evening until Fred handed him a bowl of popcorn. 

“It’s Veronica…”

“What? What’s wrong?” Archie is suddenly filled with dread. Not only is Jughead _in_ _here_ , he’s _in_ _here_ _because of Veronica_ , someone he _barely_ tolerates. “Is she okay?”

“She’s been up in the treehouse for 2 hours now and won’t let me come up.” He pulls his beanie down further over his ears like he’s trying to disappear. “I left my comic up there…” Trailing off, he struggles to explain. “...I think she’s crying.”

Archie fumbles to grab his jacket, shoving the rest of his gear into the locker quickly before jumping over Reggie, now pinned to the ground by Moose.

 _Ronnie_ and _crying_ is also as weird as Ronnie in jeans. He had seen her hurt exactly one time, when Vegas had gotten too excited and she stumbled on his leash, skinning her knees on the sidewalk. Her tights had ripped and were bloody, but she only brushed herself off and held her chin high as she fixed her headband. _He_ had been more upset about it than her as Betty patched her up later, neatly placing two Minnie-Mouse bandaids on her wounds.

Archie is out the door in a flash, running through the gymnasium and plotting his course. If Mrs. Bernard’s poodle isn’t out in the yard, he can jump over her fence to bypass Pine Street, cutting out a few minutes of travel. 

He’s in luck that evil Moppet isn’t in the yard, but he snags his pants on the fence as he climbs over it, tearing a large hole. His dad will be angry, but Archie can’t worry about that now when he has to get to Veronica.

He finally slows when he reaches the stretch of grass between his house and Betty’s, stepping over Mrs. Cooper’s daffodils carefully. He’s made that mistake once and doesn’t wish to relive her wrath. 

Standing underneath the treehouse, Archie carefully places his hands on the ladder rung at eye level as he tries to catch his breath.

“Ronnie?” He wheezes. “Can I come up?”

“ _Go away!”_ Sniffles follow. 

_“_ What's wrong?” He tries again, placing his foot on the bottom rung. “Jughead says you’ve been up there for 2 hours.”

“Don’t you dare come up here, Archie Andrews!” He can hear her tears in her muffled voice, breaking his heart. 

“ _Please_ , Ronnie. Let me help.” 

A few more sniffles carry down from the platform, and he bends his neck to try to see inside, but she’s not in sight.

“Well I’m gunna stay here until you come down then.” He sits in the grass next to the ladder, fiddling with the rocks on the path him and Jug lined up last summer. 

The sun starts to set and the orange colors look pretty across the trimmed backyards. He can see Mrs. Cooper making dinner through their window and briefly wonders if he should go get Betty, but decides to keep giving Veronica space. 

Jughead must have given up hope on retrieving his comic book and gone home.

Archie fiddles with the new hole in the side of his pants. His dad will be wondering where he is soon as it’s getting late. He can see the reflection of the living room TV in the Cooper’s kitchen window. Jeopardy is starting. 

Alex Trebelev is half way through the double jeopardy round before he hears movement above him. Two feet in patent leather mary-janes descend slowly down the ladder as the last of the sunlight fades.

When Veronica gets to the bottom, she sits down next to him, tucking her cape neatly beneath her. Her eyes are very red and the green bow in her hair is uncharacteristically askew. 

“Are you okay?”

She finally looks him in the eye for a moment before dropping her gaze down to her hands again, her fingers twisting together in her lap.

“My parents aren’t coming to my dance recital.”

Her recital is Saturday. She’s been practicing for months after school, every Monday and Wednesday for two hours. He’s reminded his dad every morning this week that they _have_ to pick up flowers for her before they attend the show.

“They’re going to Prague instead.”

Archie doesn’t know what Prague is. But he’s sad for her. Even _Jughead_ is going to the recital. They know how much it means to her. 

“I’m sorry.” He grabs her clammy hand after wiping the dirt off of his. “Me and Betty and Jughead and my dad will still be there!” 

“Thanks.” She doesn’t sound cheered up, but she squeezes his hand anyway. Recently her parents have been leaving her with Smithers or The Coopers for days, nearly whole weeks at a time. But Archie didn’t realize it bothered her. She never really talked about it. 

“Hey, kids!” Fred calls from the back porch, like he knows exactly where Archie’s been all this time and is not surprised at all that they’re sitting out in the yard. “How about some pizza?” 

Archie watches Veronica brush away at the tear tracks on her face, looking suddenly nervous. 

“I got pineapple for you, Veronica!” Fred adds. “Come on in!”

She cracks a smile, and Archie finally thinks it’s going to be okay. 

His dad _always_ makes it okay. 

_. . . . ._


	5. fifth grade

_. . . . ._

The scissors glide smoothly up the wrapping paper like a warm knife through butter — a real pair, not those safety scissors her mom forces her to use when she’s around. _You’ll cut yourself, Elizabeth._

No, Veronica’s house has a sturdy pair of heavy metal scissors with fancy gold handles, and nobody is hovering over Betty as she uses them expertly. 

What Alice doesn’t know won’t kill her.

“Betty?” 

“Hmm?” The tape gets prematurely stuck to the side of the gift she’s wrapping, and Betty has to tug very gently so she doesn’t ruin the pretty paper, thick and embellished with gold leaves like out of a magazine. Inside is a boxed quill pen for her mother’s birthday, one she picked out weeks ago that’s been hiding at Veronica’s away from the recipient’s prying eyes.

“Do you think it’s weird Archie hasn’t asked me to be his girlfriend?”

Betty’s tongue sticks out of the corner of her mouth in concentration as she manages to remove the rogue piece of tape without issue. 

“What? You _are_ his girlfriend.” She finishes securing one end of the wrapping, neatly folded, before moving on to the other. She’s hopeful her mother won’t make too much of a fuss about using Mrs. Lodge’s fancy paper for the gift. _We have perfectly acceptable wrapping paper here, Elizabeth._

“No…” Veronica sighs from her spot across the dining room table, fiddling with loose pieces of ribbon and finally drawing Betty’s attention. “Everyone says that, but he hasn’t _actually_ asked me yet.”

“So ask _him_.” 

“Boys are supposed to ask girls, B.” 

“Says who?” Betty finishes securing the final corner before placing a bow Veronica had already made on top. Picture perfect. “Just ask him.”

Veronica pouts before beginning to chew on her bottom lip, removing the sheen of her lip gloss. ”Maybe.”

She doesn’t bring the topic up again when they work through their math homework together. 

Betty manages to hide the gift in her bedroom closet when she gets home without trouble and forgets all about _Veronica’s_ _troubles_ until she walks into their classroom the next morning.

There’s a crowd of kids gathered near the coat closet in a semicircle in various stances like something out of _Lord of Flies_. Not that Betty should know that, as it’s on the _eighth_ grade reading list, far too mature of a topic for a fifth grader - so says the school librarian. But Betty had no trouble borrowing a copy from the town library instead. Another thing her mother doesn’t know.

At the center of the group are Veronica and Archie, in some sort of standoff.

“So what’s it going to be?” Veronica’s voice is not quite elevated, but firm enough to indicate something important is happening. 

A murmur of _Ohhhhhh’s_ builds up behind Archie in the small crowd, his face beginning to pink and his eyes wide like tea cup saucers. 

Betty starts towards the two of them, ready to diffuse the situation until she feels a gentle tug on her elbow.

“Don’t.” 

It’s Jughead, trying not to draw attention to them as he pulls her away from the group towards the other end of the room. “I don’t think they need our help for this one.”

“Wha—what’s wrong, Ronnie?” The tips of Archie’s ears have taken on a nice cherry red hue that reminds Betty of his preferred milkshake flavor.

Veronica has crossed her arms and raised her chin, a frightening stance for someone so tiny. She means business.

Betty desperately tries to recall what exactly she said to her best friend yesterday, if perhaps she didn’t take Veronica’s concerns seriously enough and has somehow contributed to this apparent showdown.

“ _Are you going to make an honest woman out of me_?” 

Oh no.

“I— I— dont—don't know what that means.” Archie holds his arms akimbo in confusion as the boys behind him start whispering to one another and the girls hang on every word. 

The tension remains palpable.

Betty again gets the urge to go over there, to save her friends from themselves. But like he can read her mind, Jughead tugs on her elbow again and shakes his head. 

They watch Veronica’s face soften a bit, finally realizing she’s made a bit of a scene out of this whole thing as Archie begins to look like he might be sick. Every kid behind him is staring expectantly at her waiting for the next move with bated breath. 

“Are you ever going to officially ask me to be your girlfriend?” She asks, much less intensely now.

“You are!” Archie quickly responds, then more slowly and unsurely adds, “Aren’t you?” 

“You’ve _never_ asked me!”

His hand curls around his neck, his half untucked collar sticking out haphazardly in a slightly pathetic sort of way. “Okay. Will you be my girlfriend, Ronnie?”

“Of course.” Veronica smiles and reaches for his hand immediately, pulling him in the direction of Betty and Jughead and their desks as if sort-of-ultimatums are a normal occurrence before eight in the morning.

The crowd watches for another moment in bewilderment before dispersing to their seats, not quite sure what they just witnessed and now bored with the lack of drama escalation.

“They’re so dumb.” Jughead pulls his beanie down over his ears and slides into his seat in the back corner trying not to roll his eyes too hard. 

Betty doesn’t necessarily agree. “Love makes you do funny things.” She sits in front of him, taking out her notebook and pencil before passing him a granola bar she snagged out of her dad’s lunch bag off the kitchen counter this morning.

Archie and Veronica have always been in love, she thinks. They’re like peas and carrots. Or chocolate and peanut butter. Or that one time the waiter at Pop’s misheard Betty’s order and gave her one scoop of passion fruit ice cream and one scoop of brownie supreme and it justworkedso well together. 

When Archie sits down at his desk next to them, Jughead gives him a look of disapproval before he rips into the wrapper with his teeth. Her mom had splurged on the dark chocolate chip granola bars this week. Jug’s favorite.

Archie just shrugs at them and smiles, beaming at the green satin bow in Veronica’s hair in front of him as he will for the rest of class.

Despite how it started, it turns out to be just a normal Tuesday. But later after school, Betty watches as Veronica adds the date to the center of the heart drawn on the cover of her diary, right under the V+A that has been there for a much, much longer time.

_. . . . ._

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [tell me all about it, brown eyes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597205) by [monicaposh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/monicaposh/pseuds/monicaposh)




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